Clue
by Lion warrior
Summary: Po has a secret past that involves clues, Zeng, and a rat. But an incident has caused him to use his skills of the past to save the day. And his friends get involved with it. Especially Tigress.
1. Chapter 1

Clue

**Don't own Kung Fu Panda.**

**Question: Do we really need to put this on? I mean considering name of the site.**

* * *

Po was training his high-kicks with Monkey and Mantis in the Training Hall. It was fairly early in the morning and Po was still slow from his slumber. He made a high-kick at the punchbag and it whacked him back. "Ugh! I'm tired of that thing. I can fight boar, croc, wolf, and ox bandits, defeat crazed and sinister villains, and train with the Furious Five, but I can't defeat this thing?!" Po exclaimed as he pushed the sand-filled dummy, and it whacked him again. Monkey laughed.

"Well, we all excel in certain things and fall short in other things. In your case, the dummy," Monkey laughed. Po glared angrily at his monkey friend. Suddenly, the doors bursted open to reveal a completely white Tigress staring angrily at Po, with a scroll in her hand.

"PO!" she yelled and lunged towards the panda. Po quickly ducked Tigress' attack and ran around the Training Hall.

"Luckily you can also out run us when you want," Monkey said dying from laughter.

"Help me, Guys!" Po pleaded.

"We're sorry Po. We can't get in between Tigress and her prey. That's too dangerous," Mantis explained.

"What?! But I didn't do anything!" Po screamed as he ducked another attack from Tigress.

"You're going to pay Po!" Tigress shouted. All the commotion caused Crane, Viper, and Shifu to appear.

"What's wrong?" Viper asked.

"Po's in trouble for pulling a prank on Tigress," Monkey said through his laughter.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Po shouted in helplessness. Tigress finally tackled him to the ground.

"I oughta-"

"Tigress! There are other ways to get back at one without being so...violent." Shifu said stopping Tigress. This made Tigress get off of Po and cross her arms, still fuming.

"BUT LOOK AT ME! I know he did this!" Tigress protested as she pointed to her white fur. "He put dye in the bathing water to make me look like this!"

"I DIDN'T" Po protested getting up from the ground.

"Yes he did! He even left a note saying he did it," Tigress said unraveling the scroll showing it to Shifu. At this point, Shifu, Crane, and Viper were shaking their heads while Monkey and Mantis were still laughing.

"You don't cover your tracks well, do you panda?" Shifu said handing the scroll over to Po.

"I promise you I didn't-" Po stopped short as he saw the scroll. There was something very unusual about the scroll. He looked on the back. There were markings on the back but he couldn't figure it out. Then he furled the scroll and the markings came together to form the word: CLUE! Po gasped at this.

"Well, what do you have to say?" Tigress said still mad. Po seriously at Tigress and Shifu. This threw the others off guard; why was he looking at them like that?

"Zeng!" Po shouted, "We've got work to do." He stormed off to find the duck. By now, everyone was still and silent. They decided to follow Po.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Zeng asked nervously. Po and the others were in his little working hut. It was much like the barracks with a little desk for Zeng. Zeng was sitting at the desk when Po called. Po handed him the scroll, and Zeng immediately sighed when he saw the word: CLUE! "I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do this anymore," he muttered.

"Me, too. Can you figure it out?" Po asked.

"When have I not figured it out?" Zeng said rhetorically.

"I don't understand. Why are you concerned about the scroll?" asked Tigress, who was still white but was calm now.

"Clue is the name of a person I know, an old friend that Zeng and I knew. He use to do stuff like this, but he was secretive about it," Po replied.

"So you're saying that he was the one that made Tigress white?" asked Crane. Po nodded. Zeng turned back around.

"Alright, figured it out. You know how base and acid works, right?" Po nodded but the others were confused. "It's basically that certain base things, like flour, react violently to acids, like acidic fruits like lemon or grapefruit. If you're careful, you can write a message with a base object that can only be seen with an acidic object," Zeng explained.

"Like Lemon?" Po suggested.

"Precisely," Zeng said as he held a lemon in his hand. He carefully ran the lemon juices over the back side of the paper. He let it sit for a while and words started to appear. As soon as it was done, he started read it.

"'If Zeng or Po is reading this, that means that Po managed to get in the shower before the tiger, or that the tiger stopped chasing Po long enough for him get this message. To Po and Zeng, I say greetings and glad to see you are well. As you may suspect, I need your skills that you used while we were in the spying detective business. You can bring your friends along (those that can withstand the bandits on the way) but I warn you, this is no easy task.' Like they ever are 'sincerely yours, Clue. P.S. For the tigress: don't worry, the dye comes off with pure water.' Well, this is great," Zeng said as he finished reading.

"If he can't figure out something on his own and needs our help, then he is in trouble," Po said.

"So where do we start?" asked Shifu. Po looked at Tigress white fur. She was already trying to wipe the dye out with a towel.

"There's only one person who sells dye here in the Valley of Peace, right?" asked Po.

"Yes, Mr. Chung. It's highly unlikely that Clue would stop there, but its worth a shot. Po and I will go down to the village and see what we can find. Master Tigress...will get her fur cleaned and we'll be right back," Zeng explained. As they went out the door, Po went near to Tigress and whispered.

"Told you I didn't do it."


	2. Detective Po and Agent Zeng

Detective Po and Agent Zeng

* * *

Zeng and Po quickly walked down to the dye seller, Mr. Chung. He worked in a stone house right next to Mr. Ping's house. "Excuse me, Mr. Chung," Zeng called into the shop. An old leathered-faced pig came to them.

"Yes, what can I help you with?" Mr. Chung asked.

"We were wondering if a person purchased some white dye from you this morning, a rat about 5'5?" Po said as he lowered his hand to the top of his shoulders. Mr. Chung looked at the sky thoughtfully.

"Why, yes there was a person by your description that came here and purchased white dye. He told me he had to paint Mr. Chan's house, and then sweep the dungeon. Whatever that means," he said.

"Thank you," Zeng said. They then went to Mr. Chan's house, and asked her if a rat painted her house. Of course, by the way the wood hut looked, he didn't

"No, but a rat did come by here and said that if a duck and a panda were looking for him, I was to give them this," the little bunny gave them a little scroll that said Clue on the tie. Po undid the tie and unfurled the scroll. _Where people bad of luck come down and happiness in little form- _It stopped right there. The scroll was torn in two and the other half was missing.

"I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Thank you sir," Po said. Zeng and Po left the house and walked back to the Palace. The Furious Five and Shifu were in the Training Hall.

"What did you find?" asked Shifu.

"Just as I suspected. A lot of running around and half of nothing," Po said as he presented the scroll.

"Well, that's bad," Tigress commented with a towel in her hand. She was now back to her orange, black, and white colors. "Um...since no one is asking it, you guys were detectives?"

"Yeah, you never mentioned that," Monkey added. Po shrugged.

"I didn't think it was much to remember," He replied, "Clue found us in a festival together. He wanted us to help us be private eye detectives. I was 13 years old at the time so I gave a go along with Zeng. We did some missions, some rescues, and a little spying. Nothing major."

"Nothing Major?! You were a investigator that no one, except a few people, knew about!" Mantis exclaimed.

"But you don't seem to like your job much," Tigress stated.

"It's not that. I like it very much and I like Clue, too. It's just that I didn't want to have to do this now that I'm the Dragon Warrior. I didn't want you guys to know because it just didn't seem important," Po explained.

"What Po is trying to say is that your Kung Fu work seemed to pale to his private work that no one knew about," Zeng simplified.

"Wow, didn't think you were that way, Po," Viper said thoughtfully.

"Well, that's my story. Anyways, we were able to find Clue's uh...clue. But the scroll is torn and we don't know where the other part is," Po said as he slumped into a chair. Zeng looked thoughtfully at the ground.

"Maybe what Mr. Chung said to us will help us," suggested Zeng. Po pondered this.

"That could be true. He did say that he went to two places. Then that means he went to sweep a dungeon," Po replied.

"He could mean Chor-gom prison," suggested Master Shifu. Po shook his head.

"The guards don't sweep the prison, though, and Clue usually doesn't lay clues so far from each other," Po argued. Zeng snapped his...feathers.

"But I do sweep the dungeon under the Palace," Zeng said.

"That's right! There is a dungeon underneath the Palace. Maybe there's a clue there," Viper said.

"Let's go," Po said. They made their way to the Jade Palace's dungeon. There by the entrance of the dungeon lied a old broom with a scroll tied to it. Zeng undid the scroll. It was the other part of the scroll. Zeng put the two together. _Where children bad of luck come and happiness is in little form will you find a room where a warrior use to mourn. _

"That makes no sense. What does it mean?" asked Mantis.

"For the first time in a long time we don't know," Zeng said.

"Where would a warrior mourn?" asked Tigress. Po looked at Tigress and walked towards her. He stared closer into her eyes. Tigress was wondering why he was looking at her like that. Po started to close the gap. There was something that he was looking for on her face; he just couldn't figure out what. He didn't know it but she was starting to blush from him being so close. "What? Are you afraid something's going to spring out at me?" Tigress asked jokingly. That made Po figure out the riddle.

"An orphanage, the Bao-Goo orphanage to be exact," Po said starting to walk back to the broom. "Think about it: _children of bad luck? _Kids without parents. And a warrior use to mourn? Tigress is the only one from there." Zeng shrugged.

"Makes sense. Come on, lets check it out," He said. With that they were out of the dungeon and on the road to Tigress' horrible memory. The orphanage was fairly close to the Palace, about a 30min journey. On the way, Tigress seemed worried all the way. She walked in the very back, silently. Po noticed this and came back to Tigress.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's just that this orphanage brings bad memories," she said shivering, "I'll be fine." Po put an arm around her.

"Don't worry, we all have to face bad memories some time in our life. We just have to remember it's a memory," he said comfortingly. Tigress smiled as they continued to walk along the road.


	3. The real clue

Real Clue

* * *

They finally came to the little orphanage that Tigress grew up in. Not much changed. They still had the same stuff that she had when she was there, although most of them were fixed up or new. They were met by an old goat lady who was in charge of the Bao-Goo Orphanage and asked if a rat came by here. "Yes, there was a rat that came in here and went up to Tigress' old room. We haven't done much to it because of our attention to the children, so we haven't fixed it up yet," the goat replied.

"They never paid attention to me," Tigress whispered to Po truthfully but sarcastically. Po playfully nudged Tigress in the arm while smiling. They opened the dead bolt and went inside. There was 20 years worth of dust everywhere. They could plainly see where the rat had been by the footprints in the dust on the floor. They looked around for something. Viper picked up a little doll.

"I never really knew how bad your life here was Tigress," she said sadly.

"I got use to it," Tigress said emotionlessly.

"No one gets use to hurt. They just get numbed by it," Po said ominously. Finally they found a small scroll on the bed. Tigress unraveled it. _I wish that you guys would hurry up. I'm in desperate help here. The only reason I'm doing this clue game is because I want to make sure that you aren't followed. But the bright side is that with your delay in time, I had enough to eat some peaches and they were heavenly. _

"That's all we get? Well, what do you make of this guys?" asked Crane. Po and Zeng's mind raked through possible answers. Po then thought of one.

"The Sacred Peach Tree. He said that they were heavenly, so he's back at the Palace," Po said. Mantis groaned.

"We went all this way to go back? What was the point of that?" When they got out of the orphanage, a bunch of wolf bandits sprang out.

"Alright, we've been following you all day and now its our time to strike," said the leader wolf. After they were defeat, Po simply said to Mantis.

"That's the point of it." With that they went back to the Palace. As they climbed the mountain, Tigress asked.

"What do you think Clue wants with us?" Po scratched his head as he turned to Zeng for the answer.

"It's probably something worth our attention. We haven't seen or heard anything from him since we split up," Zeng replied.

"Why did you guys split?" Shifu asked.

"Zeng got a job at the Jade Palace and Clue got a job as a bounty hunter," Po answered. "But that doesn't answer the question why Clue is doing this now." When they finally got to the Sacred Peach Sapling, there was a sword behind it with a scroll attached to it.

"What does it say?" Viper asked. Zeng unraveled it. _This game was nice and fun, but now I have to come as plain as day. Eastern Enemy Oxen. _

"What the heck does that mean!" Mantis exclaimed.

"The Qi-don!" Replied everyone else.

"Even we got that, Mantis," Viper said

"But the Qi-don territory is in the west," Tigress said confused.

"Yes, but where he is, he's in the east. As in the east gate post of the Qi-don," Po explained. He looked at the horizon and saw it was sunset. "Come on, we can get there before nightfall."

* * *

They struggled through the woods until they got to a broken down gate with two guards standing at the post. They saw a nearby cave and decided to spy from there. "So you managed to get my messages?" asked a voice from behind the cave. A person came from the shadows with a black pants and a blue vest with an elegant dragon design covering it. The person was a rat and was about 5'5.

"Clue," Po said with a smile as he and Zeng went up to hug him.

"Nice to see you, too, guys. And it is an honor to meet Shifu and the legendary Furious Five," Clue said bowing. Tigress growled.

"You seem very nice for a person that likes to pour white dye on people," she growled. Clue nervously laughed.

"Oh, you still remember that. Heh, sorry. Anyways, the reason I called you here is this. Just on the other side of that gate out there is a captive. I would have usually outsmarted them but there's a problem."

"You need muscle power," Zeng suggested, "It's the only other reason he would call us. Why would he say you could bring some friends if he didn't know that we were going to. So who's the captive?"

"My wife," Clue said. Po's eyes widen as Zeng laughed on the floor. Clue glared at the two.

"Your married? Wait, let me guess. To that girl we had to save in Beijing?, Mai?" asked Zeng. When Clue nodded Zeng just laughed more.

"Guys, captive? Qi-don? Any of this a-ringing a bell?" reminded Crane.

"Right, anyways, my wife is in there and I need your strength and cleverness. Po: strength Zeng: cleverness. Reason why is because Temuti is there, and I can't fight that guy by myself. So here's the clue. What do you in this situation?" asked Clue.

"Simple," Po said as he went out the cave, walked to the guards, grabbed both of their heads, rammed them together, and opened the door. "You go straight in." Clue sighed.

"I hate using the barbaric way," he muttered. There was a circle of oxen warriors and in the middle chained to a post was a beautiful female tiger about Clue's height wearing a gold and white dress.

"Who dares INTERRUPT my RULING?" shouted Temuti.

"Clue, me, the Dragon Warrior, Shifu, and the Furious Five. Does that answer your question?" Zeng asked with a smirk.

"ATTACK!" commanded Temuti. As the guards came, Zeng threw a bow and some arrows to Zeng as he drew out his sword.

"Just like the old days," Zeng said as he shot the arrows at the guards. Soon, the guards were defeated.

"You think you can defeat me?! I AM TEMUTI, WARRIOR Of THE QI-DON!" he shouted. Po ran up to Temuti, grabbed his tongue, knocked his head so that he bit his tongue, punched him in the head and gut, watched him fall to the ground defeated. As Temuti groaned, Po said.

"Listen, or thy tongue will make thee deaf." With the soldiers and Temuti defeated, Clue gently freed his wife, Mai. Mai kissed him on the lips and suddenly slapped his face.

"What was that for?" Clue said holding his cheek in pain.

"You were late!" she exclaimed. Clue groaned as the others laughed.


	4. The Old Team

The Old Team

* * *

"But it's great to see you, though," Mai said as she hugged Clue again. As the gang cleaned up the mess and went out the fortress, Clue pulled Po to the side.

"I'm actually thinking of staying in the Valley of Peace for awhile if you don't mind. Maybe we can get the team together," Clue said. Po laughed.

"Yeah that would be great," he said smiling. After they got to the valley, Clue and the others decided he would sleep with Po for the first night.

"So exactly why did you drench me in white dye," Tigress said still angry. Clue sighed.

"You don't forgive easily do you?" Clue asked rhetorically. "Well, one: I needed a way to make sure that Po and Zeng got my attention." he stopped after that.

"What was the other reason?" Tigress asked.

"The other was to just pull a prank on you," the rat said smiling and racing off.

"Why you!" Tigress said chasing Clue around the training hall.

"He has practice Master Tigress. He's not going to be easy to catch," Mai shouted after them. After Tigress had her fill of revenge, by dunking green dye on Clue in the shower, everyone went to bed for the night. When morning came, the gong sounded, and the Furious Five, Po, and Clue woke up. The only reason Clue woke up was because he was scared out of his bed. But the strange thing was that Master Shifu was not in the hall to greet them.

"Where is Master Shifu?" asked Viper.

"I don't know. Maybe he's still in his room. We should go there." Crane suggested. They went to Shifu's room and found that he was in bad shape. He seemed to be sleeping but he was groaning.

"Master Shifu, are you okay?" Po asked gently shaking him. Shifu suddenly punched Po in the face and awoke. "Ouch! I just woke up. I don't want to go to back bed until night." Po said rubbing his face.

"I'm sorry, Po. I must have overslept," Shifu said. The whole room gasped.

"The world is ending," Po started to panic.

"Relax, Po, it can happen. But that doesn't explain why you are looking like this," Clue said. Shifu's robe was ripped and he complained about his stomach and right shoulder hurting. "Looks like somebody was trying to fight you in the night. Do you know what happened?"

"No, everything is a blur," Shifu replied. Then there was a knock on the door. Mantis opened it to reveal a rhino guard.

"Master Shifu you are hereby under arrest for assaulting Master Croc at Mr. Ping shop," the guard said presenting the scroll.

"What!?" the group said in unison.

"He wasn't there," Tigress said defensively.

"I'm as surprised as you are. But I have my orders," The guard said.

"Wait! Maybe you can hold him on house arrest until we can figure this thing out. How about that?" Clue suggested. The guard thought about this.

"Okay, I'll hold him here until you have evidence to prove him innocent," the guard said.

"Alright, Zeng, Po, looks like we are back to being a team," Clue said as they went down the mountain to Mr. Ping's. There when they got there, there were two guards at the entrance with Mr. Ping crying in the front being comforted by Master Croc.

"Dad, are you alright?" Po asked.

"I'm fine son. It's just my shop!" Mr. Ping said crying looking at the wreckage.

"We'll get right to it, Mr. Ping. Zeng, you and Crane survey the shop. Do not touch the ground, there could be footprints. Master Croc, we would like a word with you," Clue inquired as he, Tigress, and Po asked him in private.

"I'll try and help you as best as I can," Master Croc said sadly.

"Now before we ask anything, could I have your autograph?" Po asked excitedly. Tigress groaned as Master Croc signed the paper.

"Now, could you tell us what happened?" asked Clue.

"Well, I was near Mr. Ping's shop while I was walking down the street. Then suddenly Shifu came and shoved me in the shop. I punched him in the shoulder-"

"Which shoulder?" Po asked.

"Huh? Um...his left shoulder. Yeah his left," Croc said.

"Are you sure?" Po asked.

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Yes! Can we get on with this?!" Master Croc said annoyed.

"Sorry. Carry on," Po replied.

"Anyways, we fought and fought, and then I forced him back. When I turned back to see him, he was gone. That's it," Master Croc said rather quickly.

"Okay do you remember where you punched him?" Clue asked.

"Um. His sholduer and his head and feet, yeah?" Master Croc said. Clue looked at him questionably.

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" Clue asked.

"Yes, I promise," Master Croc said with sweat coming down his head. "Anything else? I would like to go to bed now."

"One more really important question," Po asked, "Can you use both your hands to write?" Master Croc was shocked by this question.

"No. Good-bye, I hope you find a way to prove Shifu innocent," he said rushing off. Po, Viper, Mantis, Clue, Tigress, and Monkey went back up the stairs. Crane and Zeng stayed to finish looking over the crime scene. The group was in the Hall of Heroes where the guard and Shifu were. Viper sighed.

"We couldn't find anything that could help us. No one saw the thing happen except Master Croc, the victim," she stated.

"And his view was nothing different from the others. This is going to be hard. I know in my heart that Master Shifu didn't do this, but the clues point to him. What Master Croc said wasn't helpful to us," Tigress said sadly. Shifu looked sadly at the floor.

"It would be easier if Master Croc wasn't lying to us," Po said ominously while Clue agreed. The others turned their heads.

"What?!" They shouted in unison.


	5. Case Closed

Case Closed

* * *

"What do you mean he was lying?" asked Tigress. Po walked slowly over to the middle of the hall.

"Think about it. Shifu said his right shoulder and stomach were hurting. Croc said that he punched him in the head and feet, so that's the first lie," He explained.

"Yeah, so, he forgot which where he hit. Big deal," Mantis argued.

"And it wouldn't be, if it wasn't for the other lie. He said he punched Shifu in the left shoulder. Shifu says his right shoulder was hurting," Clue said.

"Yes, I remember Po repeatedly asking if he remembered which shoulder he punched. But what does where he punched important?" asked Tigress.

"It is because he's left-handed," Po said. Mantis, Tigress, Shifu, the guard, Viper, and Monkey all looked at each other with confused faces.

"So?" Mantis asked. Po asked Clue to face him and stand in a fighting pose.

"Think about it. I'm facing my opponent. His left shoulder is facing my right shoulder. Now, think in terms of fighting. Since Clue here is right-handed," Po explained as Clue slowly extended his right arm to where his hand touched Po's left shoulder. "He's going to go for my left shoulder."

"And if he was left-handed then he would go for your right shoulder, I get it," Shifu finished, "But how do you know that Master Croc is left-handed for certain?" Tigress snapped her fingers in epiphany.

"You made him sign his name, that autograph you asked for," Tigress said in realization. Po nodded. "But maybe he just forgot."

"No, because we repeatedly asked him if he was certain. To the point that he started to believe what he was saying was true. The moment I realized that he was sweating and in a hurry, that's when I knew that he was lying," Clue said

"But may he just used his right hand to punch Shifu. It's possible," Viper suggested. Po shook his head.

"It wouldn't be natural for him. Unless you can use both hands, you tend hit with your dominant hand," he argued. The others nodded. It made sense.

"But how does that say he's lying?" asked Viper.

"The feet tell the same story as the arms," Zeng said coming in the room with Crane and a big scroll of paper that required two people to carry it. They rolled it out and laid it out on the ground. It was a large paper that looked more like steps on how to dance. There were Master Croc's crocodile feet and Shifu's small red panda feet. They saw where the fight began and ended. "Not only that, but it also tells another thing. Clue and Po follow the steps. Clue you be Shifu, Po you be Master Croc." They started their choreographed fight until Clue came to a certain part which require his legs to be criss-crossed, to the point Clue nearly lost his balance, while Po moved back to the next step. That was odd. Master Croc's footprints suggests that he was dodging an attack from Shifu, but since Shifu's legs were crossed, how could he make that punch?

"You think that's weird? It plays out in several of them," Crane said. Then they came to the part where they finished. Master Croc's feet pitched and there was a short skid mark facing it.

"This is where he forced Shifu back," Po said. Then he noticed something. "Um Zeng, what are these other footprints?" There were a couple of footprints that came from the side that were not part of the fight. Master Croc's footprints walked over to the skid mark with the unknown footprints and then both walked away in pair.

"Framing. Master Croc was framing Shifu! But why?" asked Tigress.

"I don't think he was framing him. Rather he discovered something and he was scared by it," Clue said. Zeng looked closely at the unknown footprints.

"These are fox footprints. Something tells me that Master Shifu was being controlled. But how," Zeng suggested.

"Controlled? That's it!" Po said as he rushed to the 1,000 scrolls. He quickly selected one and unraveled it. It's dust flying everywhere. "This scroll says that there is a way to control your opponent in such a way that they are like a puppet."

"That explains why Master Shifu's feet are crossed so many times. He was controlled," Tigress realized.

"Alright, you've proven that Shifu didn't do it, but if not him then who?" asked the guard. For a while everyone was silent. Then Po rubbed his chin as he spoke.

"Fox footprints. Mei-Ling, Shifu's ex-...friend," Po said trying not offend Shifu, "Wouldn't be able to do or learn this. She's good, but that desperate. OH! Duh! Think about it. If Shifu was found guilty, who would immediately step in to take charge of the Jade Palace?"

"Junjie!" the group said in unison.

"Precisely," Po said. "Master Croc was probably lying because Junjie must have twisted his arm in someway. But now the hard part. How are we going to get Master Croc to show us where Junjie and his goons are hiding?"

"Follow him," Clue said as Po slapped his head. Duh!

* * *

Master Croc quietly snuck throughout the night streets. He crept out his back door and out down the an wooded path. He finally came to where Junjie and his goons were around a campfire. His Furious Five were all standing at attention while the fox came up to Master Croc with a wicked smile. "Do they know?" he asked. Master Croc shook his head.

"There's no way they would find out. Why are you doing this Junjie? This framing? If it weren't for the fact that you would hurt my family, I would have to them the truth," Master Croc grumbled. Junjie waved it off.

"Your modesty is well inspiring, but I get what I want at any cost," Junjie said.

"And if the others and the Dragon Warrior find out what you are doing?" Croc asked. Junjie laughed wholeheartedly.

"What is the Panda going to do? Get a team of expert detectives?" Junjie joked. Po, Clue, Zeng, and the Furious Five all jumped out of the trees.

"I feel offended," Po said sarcastically. They quickly ambushed Junjie and his team tying them up. Then Shifu and the guard came out. "See, told you he didn't do it. You heard it?" Po asked.

"Every word. Come on, Junjie. You're coming with me," The guard said picking them all up. "Master Shifu, you are free to go."

* * *

**I'll be kind today.**


	6. The Clue of the Lotus Flower

The Clue of the Lotus Flower

* * *

"Thank you, Po, Clue, Zeng, for your expertise help. I never knew how much I would have to rely on it," Shifu confessed as they were in the Jade Palace.

"Yeah, nice work guys," Monkey said patting Zeng on the shoulder. He accidentally quacked. The whole room laughed. During this, Clue pulled Po over to the side.

"Hey, take this. Think of it as my last clue to you. It may help you with your...personal problems," he said with a smile. Po went to his room and sat down on the bed. Just as he was about to open it, Tigress came in.

"Sorry to barge in like this. I need an extra towel. I still think that I have some of that dye in my fur," she said as she scratched her head.

"It's over there," Po replied. She grabbed the towel and started stroking her head fur. She stopped when she saw Po's solemn expression.

"Po...I want to thank you for proving Shifu innocent. It really means a lot to me," she said as she hugged him. Po silently blushed as she released him. Tigress continued to wipe her hair while Po shook out of his shock and then continued to open the scroll. _Fear is a major hindrance to our life, but sometimes you have to kiss the Lotus Flower to taste the sweetness._ Po sighed as he put his head in his hands. Tigress was still in the room.

"What's wrong?" she asked concerned by his reaction to the scroll.

"It's nothing. Clue just gave me a scroll for some...personal advice," Po replied still in confusion about the scroll, or rather about its truth.

"What does it say?" she asked peering over him. Po got the sudden urge to stand up. He walked towards Tigress looking her in the eyes all the way. Tigress, who was a little frightened, walked backwards as Po backed her into the wall. She could tell immediately that she was blushing. "Po what are you do-" she didn't finish because Po kissed her on the lips. Tigress was shocked out her brain. Just out of the blue this panda kisses her. This panda, the one she despised for taking the Dragon title from her. This panda, the one she called names. This panda, who gave her a new meaning of life, full and free. This panda, who she had grown to like. This panda, who she had grown to love. This panda, _her_ panda.

As her mind slowly started to comprehend the situation, she kissed back, letting her hands caress his face and gradually wrapping her arms around his neck. Po slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her as close as possible. Tigress intensified the kiss as she purred happily through it. Soon, as they were running out of breath, they separated looking into each other's eyes. "Tigress," Po said lowly, "I'm sorry for what I just did, but I wanted you to know that I love you. With all my heart. I understand if you don't like me but I-"

"I love you, too," Tigress interrupted. This made Po widen his eyes.

"You do? When?" he asked incredulous.

"Gradually, when I grew closer and closer to you. I didn't figure that you would like me back considering all the ways I've treated you, but that kiss confirmed it. Yes, Po, I love you," Tigress said.

"I love you, too," Po said as he kissed her again. Tigress yelped in surprise and delight as her eye slowly fluttered shut. Unknown to them, Zeng and Shifu were out side. They tip-toe away, and just when they were out of earshot..

"HA! Told you he would do it before sundown, pay up." Zeng said as Shifu begrudging gave Zeng the bag of money.

"On the bright, my daughter has figured out the clue to love," Shifu thought to himself as he smiled.


End file.
